Costa Rica and USA have punched their tickets to the FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2026™, becoming the first two nations set to fly the Concacaf flag later this year.
The duo secured their spots at the 48-team tournament by topping their groups in the Concacaf U-17 qualifiers.
USA were pushed to the end by the Dominican Republic as they topped Group E to secure their 20th appearance at the FIFA U-17 World Cup™. Both teams went into Tuesday’s decisive clash at Arnos Vale Sporting Complex in Kingstown level on points after dominant victories over St. Kitts and Nevis and co-hosts St. Vincent and the Grenadines, respectively.
Crucially, the Stars and Stripes had a better goal difference than Los Quisqueyanos and needed just a draw to qualify, a result they secured with a goal from Malik Jakupovic in a 1-1 draw. Under the tutelage of coach Alex Aldaz, the Americans looked highly impressive in qualifying, with Jakupovic scoring an incredible eight goals in three matches.
Group D also came to a close on Tuesday and it was Costa Rica booking their spot in Qatar thanks to a 0-0 draw against Puerto Rico at the home of the Costa Rican Football Federation.
Los Ticos arrived into the affair with an enormously impressive +35 goal difference thanks to clean sheet wins over Turks and Caicos Islands and British Virgin Islands, respectively, but they were held in check by a feisty Puerto Rico side.
The Boricuas had also registered tall victories against their fellow Caribbean opponents, but were unable to find a way past Costa Rica’s resolute defence.
Ethan Barley, Paul Gonzalez and Akenai Samuels were among the heroes for the Central Americans, scoring six goals each during the qualifiers.
Picture credit: US Soccer, Concacaf
